News 18:00

BULLETIN 4 February 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Madlanga commission probes the leak of warrant details of media personality with Matlala 
# Agricultural body says wage hike will deepen rural job losses 
# And, Minister Buti Manamela calls for stronger quality assurance in African higher education

# The commissioner of the Madlanga commission, Sandile Khumalo, has questioned Witness F over sharing warrant details linked to social media personality Musa Khawula with controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. This follows allegations that Police Organised Crime head Richard Shibiri contacted Khawula, urging him to stop reporting on Matlala, and later shared screenshots with Witness F. The witness told the commission he cannot confirm whether Shibiri warned Khawula to halt the coverage:

# The agricultural organisation TLU SA says the minimum wage increase to 30-rand-23-cents an hour from next month ignores the tough economic reality. They warn that farmers and businesses are already under pressure from foot and mouth disease outbreaks and weak growth, and that higher labour costs could lead to job losses, especially in rural areas. The organisation’s Bennie van Zyl also criticised the government for forcing the private sector to pay wages it cannot afford itself:

# Higher Education and Training minister Buti Manamela says Africa has the world’s youngest population and rapidly expanding higher education systems, but faces funding, access, and capacity challenges. Speaking at the 2026 International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education Forum, Manamela stressed that quality assurance is essential for transformation, equity, and public trust. He highlighted the role of technology, artificial intelligence, regional and global collaboration to strengthen higher education, broaden access, and meet social and economic priorities.

# Fifteen migrants died and 24 were rescued when their boat collided with a coast guard vessel, capsized and sank off the Greek island of Chios. According to the Coast Guard the collision occurred when the crew of a migrant boat with its navigation lights off ignored signals from a patrol vessel and changed course. The overloaded boat capsized and sank with all the passengers falling overboard. Greece has long been a favoured gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

# Olympics: South Africa has a record of five athletes for the Winter Games, starting in Northern Italy on Friday. They are Nicole Burger, who will participate in skeleton racing, cross-country skier Matthew Smith, freestyle skier Malica Malherbe, and 17-year-old Thomas Weir and 18-year-old Lara Markthaler, who will both compete in the alpine skiing competitions. The South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee has announced incentives for medallists, namely 400-thousand-rand for gold, 200-thousand for silver and 75-thousand for bronze.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-95-cents and the euro at 18-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 75-thousand-170-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-36-dollars-3-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….